If you want to become the star of your own reality TV show, it's going to be challenging. This article has information substantiated by someone who has friends who are in reality TV shows and who has been approached by three different major channels (Discovery, History, and Animal Planet) regarding being the star of one. They don't have much of an interest in being famous in the reality TV world but are happy to help those who would love their own reality show.

Steps

1

Live in an interesting or unique location. Where you live can make a difference. Where you live has a lot to do with whether or not you are ‘reality show’ worthy. Right now, Alaskan reality shows are very common, and because of this, the people who live there have been made targets for reality TV stardom. Thus, you may have more chance if you live in Alaska or somewhere similar, depending on what's trending at the time. Not everyone can choose where they live, but if you can choose where to live, try to find a place that is common for reality shows.

Note that the location factor changes often, as different things become popular. Unique geographical locations (Hawaii, Alaska, the ‘wilderness’) are all very common places for reality show settings. Also, bigger cities like New York and Los Angeles are well known for their ‘filming scene’.

You don't have to have a 'rich' lifestyle to be famous in the reality TV world. Benefit Street was popular in the UK and New Zealand.

2

Have your own story. Everyone has a tale to tell! Have a fascinating background story. What makes your life interesting? Fur buyers in a very remote part of Alaska who live in an Inuit village and live a subsistence lifestyle (hunting, fishing, and gathering a lot of their food) are ideal reality TV stars, for example. If your life is anything like that, great, you have more chance of being a reality TV star than a school girl from Norwich, unless she drives dog sleds.

Live a life that very few people live, and, if it’s a life many people find interesting, television channels may believe it’s worthy of its own show.

Anything can be a good story. Get creative and think of something that makes your life truly unique. You could take a road trip across America with your best friends or live as a hermit (never leaving your apartment) in one of America’s most populated cities. There are literally endless possibilities for a reality show––all you need to do is think of one that’s truly going to ‘wow’ a viewing audience and make them want to tune in each week for every episode.

3

Make yourself accessible. It's all about who you know. Be accessible to people who want to hear your story. Basically, use the Internet to market yourself. By putting your story out there on the web, you are welcoming anyone to contact you:

Write blogs, make YouTube videos, run your own website.

Use social media and have connections to people.

Make the effort to have your contact information accessible. Have an email readily and easily found on all of your websites. If you have a business website, always have a phone number associated with it. This makes you an easy target for people scouting for reality shows because you can be easily contacted and any program makers will have a bit of a background regarding what you do.

4

Contact the appropriate stations. Pitching your own show to the appropriate station could work wonders. Many television stations welcome ideas being pitched to them, and will listen to different thoughts regarding a reality show. You may not always get a reply, but if you have a true ‘gem’, they will certainly make an effort to get in contact with you. Moreover, by approaching a station that fits the show you’re looking to market, you could set yourself up for a lot of success.

5

Be prepared if you do get approached. Be flattered and a bit starstruck but keep your wits about you. Ask a lot of questions. The pay, although often mistaken for being quite high, is not typically a ‘get rich quick scheme’. In fact, the pay per episode is very low in the beginning of reality shows.

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Community Q&A

Tips

Know people everywhere. Have friends in the reality show business. By connecting with fellow reality show stars, you give yourself a bit of leeway to getting handed your own show.

Warnings

Opt not to go into it with a 'crazy attitude'. Be polite and kind, and let your personality show through. Even if you are going to be portrayed as a bit of a wild child on screen, acting immature around producers, directors, and filmography is only going to make you look unprofessional and difficult to work with.

Be aware that you give the television company full editing rights, which means that you are not in control of the show and they can take the footage and make it appear however they’d like (even if it over dramatizes things or makes you look bad). This may not be something you're so keen about; read online about reality TV stars who claim that their worst moments were used to make them look like entirely different people.